Court of Appeal Has Not Released Intigam Aliyev from "Aquarium"

The Baku Court of Appeal chaired by Mirzali Abbasov today held a preliminary hearing on the complaint of the head of the Legal Education Society Intigam Aliyev.

Aliyev himself in the courtroom was put in a glass chamber called Aquarium.

Lawyer Javad Javadov solicited Aliyev to provide the opportunity to sit next to his defenders.

He further requested to conduct audio and video recordings of the court and appealed for holding a full trial.

Javadov also asked the court to attach to the case the conclusion of expert handwriting analysis conducted by a professor at Warsaw University. The examination revealed that the signatures submitted by the bank to withdraw money from the Legal Education Society do not belong to Aliyev. The lawyer asked to examine this document.

When the judge allowed Aliyev to speak, the human rights activist said he had difficulty hearing and insisted that he be allowed to sit down with the lawyers.

However, the prosecutor Seyhun Azadaliyev objected, saying that this form of detention of the accused is defined by the Ministry of Justice regulations. The judge added that the place for the accused "is equipped according to the European standards" and dismissed the application.

The judge also said there was no need for audio and videotaping of the trial as there are the minutes of the sessions.

The prosecutor also opposed the petition to change the measure of restraint for house arrest.

Once again Javadov's lawyer asked for consultations with Aliyev, but the court guards did not allow this and started to grab him by the arm, which caused outrage at Javadov and Aliyev. Even after the judge’s appeal not to interfere, one of the guards went into the Aquarium, which was interpreted as a violation of the right to confidential communication between the counsel and the defendant.

The court then went to the meeting, after which the judge Abbasov said that all the defense motions were rejected and the examination of the application was assigned to July 21.

Recall that Aliyev was arrested in August 2014. The Baku Court of Grave Crimes on April 22 sentenced him to 7.5 years in prison on charges of illegal business, tax evasion, misappropriation, official forgery and abuse of office.

Aliyev denies the charges and believes that he is being persecuted for political reasons in connection with the human rights and advocacy. Amnesty International recognizes Aliyev "prisoner of conscience". -06B-